Tag Archives: FC Metz

Today, Eric Benny Sports Management took yet another step to launch a new initiative and their first chapter out of Delhi and Gurgaon. Sunil Chhetri along with Eric Benny introduced the unique 4v4 Leagues here in Bangalore that are to start in November this year.

Eric Benny introduced the gathering with a short glimpse of his journey with Indian football through various initiatives that his sports management company has launched across the northern part of India. He also focused on his unique relationship with the French Embassy here in India as well as the management’s partnership with FC Metz; a club known for producing top talent such as Robert Pires, Emmanuel Adebayor, Franck Ribery and many more.

This is a time-tested association of 3.5 years when it all began in Delhi-NCR with Eric Benny envisaging a career for young Indian interested and talented in football. The mission of this roadshow travelling from state to state within a country of over 1.2 billion population to identify at the grass root level talent and thereafter what needs to be done in terms of grooming, training, ranking, selecting the top talented children, before placing them in a world-class football academy like FC Metz in France.

Sunil Chhetri, Brand ambassador for Eric Benny Sports Management, Captain of the Indian National Team and Bengaluru Football Club, underlined that there is no lack of hard work in Indian players but “unless the teacher is good to teach the right way at the right age, and players learn to simultaneously work smart and work hard, only then can there be improvement, else a fiasco.”

After having successfully sent 9 Indian children to F C Metz, EBSM is launching on 9th November across Decathlon sites in Bangalore, 8 weeks of 4V4 football league – inviting children who are passionate about football to try and get selected for a second round of all-Indian elite pool of young footballers before attempting for the top rank in order to avail the opportunity to live their dreams of a career-breaking opportunity at F C Metz. The leagues start pretty soon and Sahil Srivastava who would be managing the Bangalore chapter of these leagues can be reached on 9986556058.

Mr. Eric Lavertu, Consul General of France, termed this as an innovative cooperation with immense potential given the young population of India. It will lead India to the best international level in the future.

Keeping youth football as the primary focus, Sunil Chhetri today announced that he would be representing Eric Benny Sports Management and all Eric Benny’s initiatives across the country.

In a press conference held at the Football House, the AIFF witnessed Sunil Chhetri and Eric Benny making their collaboration public, a partnership that will help Indianfootball at the grass-roots level reach the next stage. Sunil Chhetri, Captain of the National Football Team, shared his thoughts and feelings on why the development of youth football in India is important, and how Eric Benny is one of the few people in this country who shares a similar focus with him. Chhetri discussed that although he has seen and heard of a lot of academies and collaborations, he was really impressed by FC Metz, a French Ligue 1 club with whom Eric has partnered to help improve the quality of football, with education a priority. Chhetri said, “Everyone wants to do well, but no one knows how. This collaboration with Eric Benny Sports Management is a small step towards a greater cause.” He then emphasised on providing education, the right values and discipline to the players, as he believes that only then will a player go on and become a better human being. “Over the years I have seen many players vanishing because they did not have the discipline and the right values.”

Mr Kushal Das, General Secretary of the AIFF, was also a part of the panel, andhe acknowledged and appreciated the work and effort put in by Eric Benny. “More people like Eric is what India needs and I’m glad that there are people such as Chhetri and Eric who are doing such great things.” Mr Das also mentioned that the next big focus for the AIFF is investing in football at the grass-roots level.

Eric Benny, Chief Executive – Eric Benny Sports Management, spoke about his time spent in Europe to search for the right club to partner with, a club that looks at a collaboration beyond money and profit, and actually wants to invest time in India. He said, “It took me a while to find the club, but I did it, and FC Metz was on the same wavelength as me. They do not differentiate between French and Indian players and that is extremely important, as is keeping education as a priority.”
Eric also took time to announce Metrifit as an official partner. He said, “It is important to link technology and sport, and Metrifit will help us to achieve our goals in terms of preventing injuries, looking after lifestyle, and other aspects important to a player.”

Rudoph Monnet, Counsellor of Sports and General Affairs – French Embassy in India, was a part of the panel, and he assured the support of the French Embassy in all ventures in the future. “We at the Embassy believe in Eric’s work and have also seen why his work makes him stand out. This Indo-French relationship in the field of sports will not only enable to leverage more youth in the right direction but also educate and nurture, as we and Eric believe.”

With youth development of football in India as its main focus, Eric Benny Sports Management earlier this year announced the launch of “My Chance” – a unique football tournament that would identify indigenous grassroot talent and sponsor their training at the French club, FC Metz which is known for producing world class players such as Robert Pires, Emmanuel Adebayor, Miralem Pjanic amongst others.

This one of a kind talent hunt saw over 75 teams from the NCR sweat it out in the age category of Under 13 and Under 15 years. One of the aims of this unique initiative by the former Indian Team Manager, Eric Benny is to not just promote Indian football but also, add to the already existing team of 6 aspiring young Indian footballers who Eric Benny has placed at the French club over the last 2 years. A firm believer of the small sided version of the beautiful game, Eric Benny ensured that talent was spotted with the smaller age playing 4 v 4 and the elder ones playing 7 v 7 with the technical staff from FC Metz on each pitch at the Ambedkar Stadium here in New Delhi. After 3 days of intense short duration games, Eric Benny along with his FC Metz team announced the 4 individual winners of the tournament.

The four boys that were selected to train at FC Metz for a short stint after the 3 days of this unique tournament were: Anand, Rajkumar who were from My Angels Academy, Ramon Bathla from St. Pauls School and Amrendra Tyagi from Sherwood College.

Eric Benny, Chief Executive – Eric Benny Sports Management shared his thoughts on My Chance. “My thoughts and intentions when I announced the initiative earlier this year were clear. I wanted to give those boys a chance who had what it takes to compete alongside other aspiring young boys who come from footballing nations from around the world. It’s easier said than done when someone in India talks about wanting to play in Europe, especially in a club like FC Metz who have one of the best youth development systems in Europe. I would like to thank FC Metz staff and the French Embassy for being a part of this and I appreciate their support in helping me achieve my dream which is to take Indian football to the next stage. These boys who we have selected will go stay at the academy in FC Metz for a period of 3 to 4 weeks where they will not only get the exposure to live and train in an international academy but also realise the importance of how a professional player needs to take care of small aspects such as eating and sleeping right. This is a small step towards bringing the big change towards Indian football”

Denis Schaeffer, Director of Formation- FC Metz Academy who has established a strong relationship with Eric Benny and been to the capital more than once was not shy of making his intentions and observations. He said “When I go back to France this time, I am sure to tell everyone that this trip was more than just a nice weekend in India. It was about finding the right boys who have that hunger to play in Europe. We know that Indian sports is dominated by cricket, and we do not intend to do any harm to that but we believe and we know that the next big thing is football in India and we are glad to be associated with someone such as Eric to help us achieve that.

I have mentioned this a few times before that I am more than happy to come over more than just once or twice a year to find and spot the right talent in India who we at Metz believe can play in a footballing nation such as France”

Alongside Denis Schaeffer was Pierre Gillet, President of the Academy at FC Metz who was in India for the first time and excited to be here. Adding a bit of humour to the air around, he said “This is a very funny moment because my English is not very good”. With the collaboration and My Chance, Pierre shared the same thoughts as Denis. He added “We at Metz believe that this collaboration would only add value to Indian football”

Max Claudet, Cultural Counsellor of the French Embassy, who was also a part of the panel, said “I have always been more than happy to help Eric and his work. We at the Embassy are looking for more ways and ideas to strengthen the Indo-French relationship especially for younger children and when Eric and I spoke a couple of years ago about how he intends to help young Indian boys and girls, we knew that this would be perfect because we believe in the youth. I have not shared this with Eric as of now, but we at the Embassy would be more than happy to help boys or girls who would head to Metz in respect with aspects such as their living abroad or with documentation. We would like to always be a part of this project”.

Eric Benny also took this time to announce the partnership with Mr K.B Chhetri, the Managing Director of Letz Play. Mr K.B Chhetri, father of the Indian national team Captain, Sunil Chhetri said “I am happy to be a part of this unique partnership with Eric Benny Sports Management. What I am also happy to announce is that my son, Sunil Chhetri is more than happy to represent Eric Benny Sports Management and Letz Play making him the brand ambassador for all our future projects and initiatives across the country. Eric Benny believes in developing the youth of this country in football and so do we. I believe that this partnership can only take things forward for Indian football”.